Maybe Someday
by cherrycokerocks
Summary: AU. When Wedding Planner Maria agreed to plan her best friend’s Mickie James’ wedding, she had no idea it meant working with a man she didn’t like at all, Jeff. Maria/Jeff, Mickie/Chris, Candice/Punk, Melina/Randy, Amy/Jay, Trish/Adam, Karen/A.J & more.
1. Chapter 1

Fic: Maybe Someday  
Author: Cherrycokerocks  
Pairings: Jeff/Maria, Chris/Mickie, Jay/Amy, Adam/Trish, Randy/Melina, Frankie/Traci, A.J/Karen. Lots more appearing, from both WWE and TNA. Some of these will only have a small part in the story.  
Rating: T for now.  
Disclaimer: I own nobody you recognise. All belongs to the WWE, TNA and themselves.  
Category: AU  
Spoilers: None.  
Summary: When Wedding Planner Maria Kanellis agreed to plan her best friend's Mickie James' wedding, she had no idea it meant working with a man she didn't like at all, Jeff Hardy.  
Author's note: Taking inspiration from various movies such as The Wedding Planner, 27 dresses, PS, I love you and quite a few more. I got the idea for this story yesterday when I was watching 27 dresses on DVD. Using real names for the most part too. I really shouldn't be starting another new story but this one won't leave me alone so I might as well get it out of my head.

_Fluffy's Café & Bakery, Seventh Avenue, Midtown, New York City_

Maria Kanellis walked into the café and immediately started to scan the area to find her best friend, Mickie James. Even though they were best friends, Mickie had officially hired Maria as her wedding planner and that was the reason for their meeting today. After a second or so, the pretty redhead caught sight of the brunette sat in a corner booth and headed over in her direction of the booth. Once there, she slid in and sat opposite Mickie. "Hey you."

Mickie grinned, "Hey yourself."

"How's things?" Maria grinned back.

"Fantastic."

The redhead smiled again, "That good huh?"

Mickie's eyes twinkled, "Oh yeah."

Maria shrugged off her dark blue denim jacket, "Well, Micks, I must say this whole being engaged thing is seriously working good for ya. You got it going on."

"I know."

"How's Chris?" Maria asked, already knowing that the blond man was fine.

"He's great," Mickie replied dreamily.

Before Maria could reply the waitress walked over to the table with her order pad, "Good morning, ladies, what can I get ya?"

Maria spoke first, not needing to look at the menu for once, she knew exactly what she was having, "I'll have a four-berry burst fruit smoothie, please."

"Sure and for you?" The waitress asked.

"I'll have a strawberry extreme fruit smoothie, please."

"Anything else?"

"Not for me thanks."

"Me either."

"Okay, coming right up." The waitress walked away.

Maria looked at Mickie who seemed rather excited about something but was waiting for her to ask. Maria decided to bite, "Okay, what have to got to tell me?"

The brunette frowned slightly, "How did you know I have to tell you something?"

"How long have we been best friends? I know you Mickie, it's written all over your face. So spill already."

Mickie shook her head slightly, "You are not going to believe who is designing my wedding dress."

Just then, the waitress returned with their drinks, "Here ya go, enjoy."

"Thanks," they both replied at the same time.

Once the waitress had cleared their table, Maria spoke again, "Who is it?" She took a long slip of her smoothie.

Mickie beamed, "Jeff Hardy"

Maria choked on her drink. It took her a moment to recover and stop coughing, "Jeff Hardy? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"No …"

Still outraged, Maria couldn't believe what she'd just heard, "But Jeff Hardy is an asshole."

Mickie cringed, "I know you don't like him but he's a close friend of Jay's and he's giving us a huge discount."

"There is no discount big enough in the world to make it okay for Jeff Hardy to be designing your wedding dress, Mickie," the redhead whined. When she looked at Mickie's face, she could tell there was more, "What?"

"It's not just the wedding dress. He's doing my evening outfit and all the bridesmaid dresses too."

"But that means I'm going to have to spend forever working with him."

The brunette pouted, "I know, I'm sorry … I love you."

"Not the pout, that's so unfair, Mickie. Oh God this is gonna suck."

"Maybe it won't be that bad," Mickie reasoned.

Maria shot her best friend a crazy look, "Yeah, maybe he's had a total personality transplant since I last saw him and he's not an asshole anymore. Face the facts, there's more chance of hell freezing over. This means I'm gonna have to call him to arrange a meeting. Damn it." She pulled out her cell phone from her purse and selected his number off her speed dial list by pressing the number one button.

Mickie was highly amused by the situation, "Why is he on your speed dial? I mean if you hate him so much."

Maria glared at her, "Because the last time I had to work with him, I had to call him so much I put him on speed dial, that's all there is to it."

Mickie wasn't convinced in the slightest, "But that was like six months ago, why haven't you deleted him yet?

"No reason, I just haven't gotten around to it yet." She pressed the button and it started to ring, "Don't give me that look. I hate Jeff Hardy."

"Hello?"

"Shit, oh hey Jeff, it's Maria Kanellis." 'I bet he heard that,' she thought to herself.

Jeff didn't seem to recognise her, "Who?"

"Maria Kanellis," she repeated, feeling like a complete idiot, "I'm a wedding planner. We worked together about six months ago on the Kennedy wedding."

"Oh … you're that Maria Kanellis." He sounded highly disinterested in having a conversation with her.

"How many do you know?"

"Just the one, thank god."

"Jerk," Maria muttered, "Listen, I'm calling you about the …."

Jeff cut her off before she could finish, "The Jericho wedding. Yeah, I've been expecting your call."

"Then why did you make out like you didn't know me?"

Jeff snorted, "Because I like messing with you."

Maria sighed heavily, "Whatever … Look, I need to arrange a meeting with you, how does this afternoon around two, work for you?"

"That's not good for me. I can fit you in at say four pm."

"Why thank you," Maria replied sarcastically, "Four pm it is then. Are you still at the same place?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, I'll see you then." She pressed the red button and ended the call. She placed her phone down on the table and looked up to find Mickie looking at her, "What?"

"Did you just hang up on him like that? That's so rude."

"The conversation was over."

Mickie still didn't seem to believe her friends behaviour, "But you didn't say bye or anything."

Maria waved it off, "He won't care, he's a jerk and besides, given half the chance he would have just hung up on me first. I just got in there first."

Mickie laughed, "Wow, he really knows how to push your buttons doesn't he?"

Maria sighed, "Yes, which is why I hate working with him but for you and only for you, I'm willing to work with him again to make sure you have the most perfect dress ever. He may be an asshole but he's a damn talented asshole. I'm still doing your shoes though right?"

"Of course. I've already told Chris, that you're doing the shoes. He's made sure that Jeff is aware of the fact."

"Good and remember I'm only doing this for you and Chris, if it was anybody else, there is no way."

Mickie beamed at her best friend, "Thank you so much, Maria. You have no idea how happy you have just made me."

"Anything for you, hon." And it was true. Maria would do anything for Mickie and if it meant that she had to work with Jeff Hardy for up to twelve months then she would do it but that didn't mean she had to like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I'm still owning nothing over here.**

**Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming.**

Chapter 2

_Jeff Hardy's Studio/Apartment, Manhattan, New York._

At exactly four pm, Maria was standing outside the door of Jeff Hardy's studio. She raised her hand and pressed the intercom buzzer on the side panel on the wall.

No answer.

"Damn it, that's just typical. He better be in there after I've travelled half way across the city to meet with him," she grumbled. Maria waited a couple of minutes and then pressed the intercom again.

This time after a moment or so she got an answer, "Hello?"

"Jeff? It's Maria Kanellis. I'm here for our four pm appointment," Maria told him calmly.

"Shit? It that the time? I'm upstairs in my apartment. I'll buzz you in and then just come up the stairs okay?"

Maria sighed heavily, "Sure, whatever." She pushed the door open a few seconds later when Jeff had pressed the release button and walked inside. She closed the door behind her and scanned the room. It looked exactly the same as it did the last time she was there, bare brick walls and laminated wooden flooring. As she headed towards the black painted metal spiral staircase in the far corner, she did notice something new. A large brightly coloured painting on a frameless canvas, hanging on the middle of the wall. No doubt it was one of Jeff's creations. The redhead could tell his work a mile off. She paused for a moment right in front of it and tilted her head as far as it would go to the left as if but doing so, the picture in front of her would make sense and she would know exactly what it was. No such luck, she didn't have a clue. Maria just shrugged and continued towards the stairs. Once at the bottom, she removed her high heeled shoes. The last time she was here she'd nearly broken her neck and there was no way she was going for a repeat performance of that.

She bounced up the steps with ease and once she was at the top, she replaced her shoes onto her feet. As she started to look up from the floor she noticed two bare legs in front of her. When she looked up further, she felt a little uneasy as she saw a white towel wrapped low around his waist. From there she turned her attention up higher to his bare chest which was wet to finally his head which was also wet. "Damn it Jeff, did I get you out of the shower?"

"Well obviously yes."

Maria couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Couldn't you have taken it earlier? We agreed four pm."

"I was sleeping earlier," Jeff replied casually.

Maria shot him a look of disbelief, "I'm sorry did you just say you were sleeping earlier?"

"Yes. Congratulation Maria, there's officially nothing wrong with your hearing."

"Whatever … Just answer me one thing. When I called you this morning and wanted to meet with you at two and you said you couldn't. That was because you had some important meeting with a client right? That wasn't so you could sleep was it?"

Jeff nodded, "Pretty much the sleep thing yeah."

The redhead rolled her eyes, "You're unbelievable."

The designer grinned at her, "Thank you."

Maria huffed, "That wasn't a compliment. Now can you please put some clothes on so we can get on with this? I don't want to stay a moment longer than I have to."

"Damn, and here I was thinking this was a social call," Jeff replied sarcastically before turning on his heels and heading off towards the back of the apartment.

"Asshole."

"I heard that."

"Good, you were meant to."

Jeff stopped for a moment and looked back at her, "That's not very professional, Maria."

"You started it. Turning up for a business meeting dressed in just a towel is so not professional."

"Okay, there's no need to freak out about it."

"I'm not freaking out," Maria shouted and then suddenly realised she was. "I'm not freaking out," she repeated in a calmer voice. "Idiot," she chastised herself once he had totally disappeared from view into what she remembered was the bathroom. She adjusted the black jacket she was wearing and removed an invisible piece of lint from her matching black knee length skirt. Once satisfied with her appearance, she walked slowly across to the main living area of the apartment and sat down on the couch. "Just remember you're doing this for Mickie."

It took five minutes for Jeff to return but thankfully for Maria he was now dressed in a pair of three quarter length plain black combat pants and a white tank top. His still wet hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. He sat down next to the redhead on the couch, "So what did you want to discuss?"

Maria rolled her eyes, "Mickie and Chris' wedding, obviously. How is the dress design coming alone?"

Jeff looked at her like she'd gone insane, "It's not."

Maria frowned, "What do you mean it's not? Do you have any idea when the wedding is?"

"Next June … As in twelve months from now. You need to chill, man. You can't be stressing this earlier into the process," Jeff pointed out, "You'll give yourself a heart attack."

Maria pinched the bridge of her nose, "The only person giving me a heart attack around here is you. By the time we meet again, say next week, I need you to have started work on the first draft at least."

Jeff just shrugged.

Maria imitated him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm an artist dude, you can't rush these things. I'll have a first draft when I have a first draft."

Maria glared at him, "No … dude. You need to work here with me, Jeff."

The green eyed man folded his arms across his chest, "You say that like I'm trying to be awkward or something. I'm not, it's just the way it is. No amount of pissing and moaning on your part is gonna change that."

"I'm not pissing and moaning, I just want everything to be perfect for Mickie and Chris. Is that such a crime?" Maria asked.

"No," Jeff said seriously, "But you really need to chill out."

"Fine." Maria held up her hand, "I will chill out …" she trailed off as her cell phone started to ring. She pulled it out of her pursed and checked the caller ID. "This is a client, excuse me … Hello?"

"Oh my god, Maria, you are not going to believe what's happened?" a distraught sounding Candice Michelle replied.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my dress. Some idiot at the shop has altered it wrong and now it's two sizes too small," the distressed bride to be explained.

"Are you serious? Okay where are you?"

"I've just come out of the dress store, I can't believe it. The wedding is going to be ruined."

"No, it's not. We'll sort something else out, I promise. I'm just in Manhattan at the moment meeting with someone about another client but we're about done here so I can meet you here in say forty minutes and we'll go from there, okay?"

"Thank you so much, Maria. I don't know what I'd do without you. I'll call you later for a meeting location. Bye."

"Bye," Maria replied and hung up the phone. "Shit, I gotta go. Wedding emergency."

"Sounds serious."

Maria sighed heavily, "Yeah, just what I don't need. Anyways, I'll call you next week to arrange an update."

Jeff nodded, "Okay cool."

The redhead stood up and made her way to the stairs, not bothering to remove her shoes this time. "Goodbye, Jeff. I'll see myself out."

The designer gave her a little wave, "See ya."

In her hurry to get down the stairs, Maria's foot slipped when she was almost at the bottom, causing her to fall backwards. Luckily for her Maria she managed to catch hold of the railing before she fell too far but she still managed to jar her back, "Fuck," she cursed. She looked up to see Jeff looking down at her from the top of the spiral stairway.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Maria huffed before she marched off in the direction of the door. The bottom of her back protesting at the sharp movements.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Thanks very much for the reviews. I hope you're still enjoying. Please R & R.**

Chapter 3

Maria had decided to kill time while she was waiting for Candice's call by going to a local coffee shop. She'd ordered herself a hot chocolate with whipped cream and pulled out her organiser to look for designer for a replacement wedding dress. Even with her vast contacts Maria was struggling to think of anyone who would be able to provide the brunette with the dress of her dream with the amount of money she had left in the budget. "Damn it."

Thirty minutes or so later, Candice has called requesting that Maria met her right outside the coffee shop. The redhead had been surprised by the upbeat tone in her client's voice and it didn't take long for her to find out why. As she followed Candice back towards Jeff's studio she had a sinking feeling.

"I called my mom and she had his number for some reason, not too sure why but I called him. He's not officially open but he said for an emergency he would let me in. Isn't that so sweet of him?" Candice asked.

"Adorable."

Candice pressed the intercom on the wall and waited.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Mr Hardy? This is Candice Michelle. We spoke about ten minutes ago on the phone."

"Right, come on in," Jeff replied.

The door unlocked and Candice pushed it open with Maria trailing in behind her.

Candice looked around, "Wow, this place is amazing."

Maria has shrugged, trying her best not to show how bothered she was to be back here so soon.

The designer appeared from the stairs, "Hi, I'm Jeff Hardy."

Candice stepped forward to introduce herself, "I'm Candice and this is my Wedding Planner …"

"Maria Kanellis," Jeff finished for her.

"Wow, you guys know each other?" the brunette asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah, Maria and me go way back. In fact she was just here thirty minutes ago discussing details for another client. Isn't that right, Maria?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Why didn't you say something? This is better than I expected. If you're already using his dresses for another wedding he must be good, right?"

The pretty redhead smiled sweetly, "Oh Jeff's very talented. I'm sure we'll be able to find you something in his collection. You understand that it would have to be a off the shelf creation though, right? Because there isn't enough time from him to start from scratch."

Candice nodded, "I understand. I'm just so thankful that he might have something for me here."

"When is this wedding?" Jeff asked casually.

"Next Saturday."

Jeff smirked, "The wedding is next Saturday and you don't have a dress? How is that even possible? I thought a Wedding Planner was supposed to take care of all those details."

Maria was starting to get pissed, "I did. We had a dress. It was the perfect dress, alright? Until some idiot misread the alterations and made the thing two sizes too small at the final fitting. Can you just show her your dresses and we can get on with this?"

Jeff remained smiling, "Sure." He walked over to the far wall and pulled back a large black curtain revealing a huge rack of all sorts of wedding dresses.

"Oh my god! Wow. I can't wait to try some of these on."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, "Please excuse me," Jeff said as he walked towards the door and opened it, "Oh hey, thanks for coming."

"No problem. Is she here yet?"

"Yeah, they just arrived." He walked back towards Maria and Candice with the new arrival following close behind. "Candice, Maria this is my assistant, Eve. She'll be helping Candice try on the dresses if that's alright?"

"Of course it's alright," Candice replied. "I'm Candice, pleased to meet you Eve."

Eve smiled, "Nice to meet you Candice."

Maria smiled, "I'm sure we'll find something here for you, Candice."

Candice beamed, "I really hope so. Ooh, look at that one, it's so pretty." She grabbed it off the rack and disappeared into the changing area, closely followed by Eve.

Maria raised an eyebrow, "You have an assistant now? Since when?"

The green eyed man shrugged, "She's not actually my assistant, more like my neighbour but I figured we'd need somebody to help Candice with the dresses and if I said she was my assistant it just sounded better."

"Whatever."

A few minutes later Candice returned wearing the first dress, "What do you think of this one?"

Maria studied her closely, "Honest opinion?"

"Of course."

"Hate it. It's all wrong for your shape and I don't like the cut at the bottom."

Jeff immediately frowned, "What's wrong with the cut at the bottom?"

Maria smirked, "There's nothing wrong with it as such, I just don't like it."

"That's not a reason."

"Sure it is."

Candice appeared to be pick up on the tension between the two, "I'm just going to try the next one."

"Okay."

Jeff waited for her to disappear before he spoke again, "I just don't like it, is not a reason."

"I can't help it. It's just the way I feel."

Jeff folded his arms across his chest, "It's still not a reason."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two. Maria willed for her client to appear and luckily for the redhead she didn't have to wait too long.

"What do you think of this one? Personally I love it."

Maria gasped, "Oh my god! That's gorgeous and it fits like a glove. Turn around."

As instructed Candice turned in a complete circle, "I feel like a princess."

Maria sighed happily, "It's like it was made just for you. That's the one."

"Punk is gonna love this. I'm going to get changed out of it."

Jeff watched Candice disappear again, "Punk?"

Maria turned her attention to the designer, "The groom. That's his nickname by the way. His real name is Phil."

"Right."

Candice returned dressed in her original clothing, "I can't believe how perfect it is. How much is that one?"

Jeff answered immediately without hesitation, "That one is five thousand dollars."

Candice's face fell just as quickly, "Five thousand? Damn, I don't have that much left in the budget. Shit, I'll guess I'll have to keep looking. Do you have anything a little less expensive? Say around, fifteen hundred?"

Jeff shook his head, "Not really. The cheapest one I have is three thousand and that was the first one you tried. The one with the cut, that Maria didn't like."

Candice frowned, "I'm sorry to have wasted your time." She turned her attention to the wedding planner, "Do you know anywhere else? Damn it. I can't believe that other place screwed up my big day. It's gonna be a disaster."

Jeff spoke before Maria could reply, "Now, hold on just a second. Let me think about this for a moment." He paused and then smiled as he got an idea, "Tell you what, you can have the dress for fifteen hundred on two conditions."

Candice's eyes went wide, "Just name them …"

"One, I'm invited to the wedding and two, you tell everybody who'll listen where you got the dress from."

"You got yourself a deal." Candice stepped forward and hugged the designer tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have just made my year. I gotta go call Punk and tell him the good news." She walked over to the far cover of the room and pulled out her cell phone from her purse. After selecting a number from her phone book she waited for the call to be answered, "Baby? I got a new dress. It's perfect and best of all, it's within budget. Can you believe it?"

Jeff turned to face Maria, "Did you hear that? I totally made her year."

Maria shot him a look, "You don't have to be so smug about it."

"I'm not being smug," Jeff replied with a smirk.

"You totally are. I have a question, why are you doing this?"

Jeff shrugged, "It was the right thing to do and besides, I'm a nice guy."

"If you say so," Maria muttered.

"I am," Jeff insisted.

"Yeah, you're a regular hero." Even though she was being sarcastic, Maria was speaking the truth. He really had just saved her from the potential massive headache of trying to find a new dress for Candice at such short notice. "Oh and for the record, I still think you're an asshole."

"Charming."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 4

_Mickie James' Apartment, Manhattan, New York_

Maria stood outside her best friend's apartment door. Without hesitation, she knocked loudly and waited for Mickie to appear. After a moment, the door was opened, "Hi … Can I come in and bitch to you for the evening?" She held up a bottle in her hand, "I have vodka."

Mickie smiled, "Sure, come on in."

"Thanks, I've had a shitty afternoon."

Mickie's smile faded, "Well that sucks, Sweetie. I take it things didn't go well with Jeff?"

"You could say that," Maria replied as she walked towards the couch and sat down. "You're not gonna believe what has happened."

The brunette stopped in the kitchen area to collect a couple of glasses and two cans of diet coke from the fridge. She then sat down right next to her friend and gave her a glass and the can of soda, "What is it?"

Maria rolled her eyes and poured herself a drink not even bothering with the soda, "Jeff's got himself invited to my client's wedding and to make matters worse, it's next Saturday."

Mickie frowned, "How'd he managed that?"

"By saving the day and being a big fat hero," Maria replied, "Stupid Jeff and his stupid wedding dresses."

Mickie laughed at her friend's mutterings, "What?"

The redhead shook her head, "My client has a disaster with her wedding dress. Some idiot at the original store somehow managed to make the final adjustments two sizes too small. So then her mom somehow gets Jeff's number and she calls him and he's all …" She paused for a moment to make air quotes, "Come on over and I'll fix you up cause I'm such a great guy."

Mickie started laughing, "Wow, you're not still bitter towards the guy at all are ya?"

Maria smacked her friend lightly in the arm, "Shut up. He's an asshole. And I thought we agreed never to mention that."

"Ria, it was two years ago. I really think you need to let it go."

Maria's jaw dropped in shock, "Let it go? It's gone. I let it go a long time ago."

Her best friend raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Then why are you so bothered about him being at that wedding next Saturday?"

"I'm not," Maria protested.

"You totally are."

"Okay, I am but I have good reason to be … That asshole broke my heart."

"What? Why didn't I know about this?"

Maria sighed, "It's my own stupid fault. I shouldn't have gotten so attached to him so quickly. I mean we only went on four dates but I was gonna sleep with him."

The brunette's eyes nearly popped out of her head, "I repeat, what?"

"The night he stood me up, I was all ready to sleep with him. God, I'm so pathetic. It's been two years and I'm still not over him. I need another drink." She poured herself a double and downed it in one.

"Why didn't you say something about this sooner? Maybe you could have worked it out."

Maria poured yet more vodka into her empty glass, "No way, he obviously didn't like me that much or he wouldn't have no showed on our big date. I spent five hundred dollars on my dress. I had my hair done, I had my nails done, the whole fucking works and he didn't even have the guts to call me to cancel. And besides now he makes out like the whole thing never happened and he doesn't even know I exist."

"But you never let him explain why though did you? You just cut him off."

"Well he didn't exactly really try to tell me either. He gave up after I busted his chops the first time."

"Is that why you were rude to him this morning on the phone? You know what maybe you should talk to him about it … Maybe he's changed," Mickie replied hopefully.

Maria waved her friend off, "Pft, he hasn't changed, he's still the same. He hasn't even started work on your dress yet."

Mickie made a face, "You do remember that I'm not getting married for like a year right?"

"Of course I do." She took a large sip of her drink.

"Maybe you should go easy on that stuff, honey?"

"Why?"

"You're gonna have a hang over in the morning."

Maria shrugged, "Right now, I don't care. I just want to get wasted and forget I ever hear the name Jeff Hardy."

"Whatever you say, sweetie."

An hour or so later and Maria was drunk which was probably the reason why she hadn't protested too much when Mickie's finance, Chris had turned up with the very man she was trying to forget, Jeff Hardy. Everything had remained perfectly civilised until Jeff had cracked a joke about needy woman and Maria had snapped.

"And you," Maria ranted, "I was so wrong about you. I used to think you were the greatest guy on the planet. How wrong was I? You're still cute but you're such a loser. And do you know why you're a loser?"

Jeff came right up to her face, "Why am I a loser, Maria?"

"Because you lost me. You had me and then you lost me," she snapped her fingers, "Just like that. Loser!" was the last word out of her mouth before he passed out onto the couch.

Mickie cringed at her friend's behaviour, "Sorry about that Jeff, she's had a bad day."

Jeff nodded, "Yeah, she wasn't doing so good earlier. She slipped down my stairs … I think she hurt herself but she wouldn't admit it. Do you want me to carry her to your guest room or should I leave her here?"

"If you could take her to the guest room that would be great. I've got a feeling she's gonna have a pretty sore head in the morning and she really doesn't need to be all cramped up on the couch. It's the third door on the right. Thanks Jeff."

"No problem." The designer scooped up Maria and took her away to the bedroom. He pulled back the covers and gently put her down on the bed. He pulled her shoes off and tucked her in, "Good night Maria." He kissed her forehead, "Sweet dreams."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R & R.**

Chapter 5

At ten thirty the following morning, Maria slowly opened her eyes. Her head was a little fuzzy but she wasn't feeling too bad otherwise until she came face to face with Jeff Hardy. She opened her mouth and started to scream, only for Jeff to quickly cover it with his head, muffling the sound.

Jeff looked at her intently, "Are you gonna calm down so I can remove my hand?"

Maria nodded slowly and Jeff moved his hand, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jeff smirked, "You don't remember last night?"

Maria tried to think for a moment but came up with nothing, "No, all I remember is being at Mickie's place and drinking some vodka. Everything else is a bit of a blur … When did you show up?"

"You were pretty wasted by the time Chris and me arrived."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Obviously, I mean there is no way I would have slept with you otherwise. You took advantage of me."

Jeff made a face, "No I didn't."

"Oh yes you did."

Jeff shook his head, "No, I really didn't. I've only just got in the bed." He pointed to a glass on the nightstand, "I brought you some fresh orange juice a minute ago and noticed you were waking up …"

Maria's jaw dropped, "So you thought you'd mess with me? Are you insane?"

Jeff chuckled, "It was just a joke Maria. What have I told you about relaxing?"

Maria rolled her eyes for a second time, "So not my idea for a joke, Hardy … More like my worst nightmare."

"Not what you were saying last night. You said I was cute."

"You lie. I did not."

"Yes, you did. You can ask Mickie and Chris if you don't believe me, they both heard you."

"Oh my god. Clearly the alcohol had affected my brain."

Jeff grinned at her, "Whatever you say."

Maria frowned, "Where's Mickie?"

Jeff ran a hand through his hair, "She and Chris had an appointment. I dropped by earlier to see them and I said I'd keep an eye out on ya while they were gone."

Maria huffed, "I don't need a babysitter."

"Why are you so angry, baby?"

"One, don't call me baby. And two, I'm not angry, I'm hung over and you know exactly how to push my buttons."

Jeff pulled back the covers, revealing that he was indeed fully dressed and got out of the bed, "In that case, I'm gonna leave you to it. Enjoy the juice. I should be getting back to work anyways. I'll see you at the wedding on Saturday."

"Urgh, don't remind me. Although, now I come to think of it, I don't know what I'm worried about, you'll probably just no show. Afterall, you have a history of that, don't you?"

Jeff placed his hand over his heart, "Ouch."

The redhead sat up slowly in the bed, "You really are an asshole, do you know that? I'm just surprised that being such a fantastic designer you haven't launched your own fragrance yet. You could call it 'Asshole by Jeff Hardy.'"

Jeff made a face, "It wouldn't actually smell like Asshole though, right? Because I'm thinking that would smell pretty bad and nobody would want to buy that ... What? Are you upset that you didn't offend me, Maria?"

Maria pouted, "No."

Jeff smiled at her, "Yes you are."

The wedding planner folded her arms over her chest, "No, I'm not."

"Now which one of us is lying? Anyways, as fun as this has been, I really gotta go. I'll see you on Saturday. Don't worry I will be there." He winked at her.

"Really, there's no need. I probably won't see you anyway, I'll be busy working."

"And that's another reason for me going. Gotta make sure you don't stress out too much."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"And besides, I can't let Candice down."

"But you have no problem letting me down," Maria whispered when he was too far away to hear her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, doesn't matter."

"See ya, Maria."

"Whatever." Maria waited for Jeff to leave the room before she flopped backwards onto the bed, "Why me?"

Thirty minutes later, the redhead was preparing to leave the apartment when Mickie walked through the door, "Oh hey, honey. I wasn't expecting you to be up yet. How's your head?"

"A little fuzzy but not too bad." Maria put on her jacket, "Last night, I didn't do something really stupid like call Jeff cute did I?"

"You don't remember?"

When Mickie didn't deny it, a look of panic spread across her best friend's face, "Oh shit."

Mickie smiled, "Don't worry, it wasn't that bad. And I explained everything to Jeff."

"What? How could you?"

"I only told him that you were in a bad mood because you'd had a crappy afternoon. I didn't tell him he was the reason behind your crappy afternoon."

Maria blew out a breath, "Thank god. He's bad enough now but if he ever found out I wanted to sleep with him, he'd be unbearable. And that's wanted as in past tense before you say anything."

The brunette held up her hands, "Hey, I wasn't going there."

"Glad to hear it."

"Did you enjoy your orange juice by the way?"

Maria raised an eyebrow, "How did you know about that?"

Mickie smirked, twirling a small section of her hair around her finger, "He brought it over especially for you. I thought it was kind of sweet."

Maria sighed dramatically, "You would. Look I gotta go. I have a million and one things to check on before Saturday for Candice. I'll call you later?"

"Sure thing, hon."

Maria walked forwards towards the door but suddenly turned back towards the other woman, "Oh and thanks for letting me stay last night."

"No problem. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah."

Mickie giggled, "Must have been the fact that Jeff tucked you in."

"He what?"

"Tucked you in. You passed out after you ranted at him for being a loser."

Maria cringed, "Oh shit. Why didn't you stop me?"

"I was going to but it was too late. You really let the guy have it."

"Well he's an ass…"

"Asshole, yeah so you keep saying."

The taller woman placed her hands on her hips, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Weren't you going?"

"Yeah … You'll keep, Mickie James."

"You love me really."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Sometimes." She affectionately touched her best friend on the arm, "See ya later, Micks."

"Bye, Ria." Mickie opened the front door for Maria to leave.

As Maria walked down the hallway, her cell phone started to ring, without looking at the caller ID she pulled it out of her jeans pocket and answered, "Maria Kanellis."

"Oh hey Maria, it's Candice."

"Hi Candice, I was just about to call you. How's it going?" The redhead continued walking towards the stairwell.

"Great, I was just calling to see if you could do me a favour?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Pick up my wedding dress from Jeff's studio."

Maria frowned even though Candice couldn't see her, "Oh, I thought you were going to do that on Friday?"

"I was but Punk has arranged a surprise for me and I'm not going to have time to do it myself."

"I can do that no problem."

"Thanks Maria, you're a life saver."

Maria ended the conversation quickly and replaced her cell phone in her pocket and shook her head, "I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve this."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Outside Jeff Hardy's Studio/Apartment, Manhattan, New York_

Maria had been cussing up a storm to herself all the way over to Jeff's studio. Seeing him again so soon after what had happened this morning was certainly not on the redhead's agenda of things to do today. However she prided herself on offering her clients the ultimate wedding day planner package and if that meant picking up the dress from Jeff then Maria would do it but she didn't have to like it.

To her surprise the door wasn't locked when she tried the handle so she pushed it open and stepped inside. Another surprise was waiting for her once she'd closed the door behind her in the form of a good friend of hers and former client, Jay Reso who was chatting casually to Jeff. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're here. I haven't seen you or Amy in ages." She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug which the blond man immediately returned.

"It's great to see you too, Maria."

At this Jeff frowned, "How come I don't get a hug?"

Maria placed her hands on her hips, "After the stunt you pulled in bed this morning? No chance in hell."

Jay raised both eyebrows, "In bed? Did I miss something?" He motioned between the two of them with his hand, "Something going on here again that I don't know about?"

Maria shot him a look of disgust, "It's nothing like that. He played a joke on me this morning by pretending that we'd slept together." She shuddered, "My worst nightmare."

"It wasn't that bad."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Maybe not for you. You think everything is one big joke."

Jay smiled, "I'm sure Jeff didn't mean anything by it. But now that you're here, it's saves me a phone call."

"Oh really? Is everything okay?"

The blond Canadian nodded, "Yeah, I just wanted to invite you to a last minute fancy dress party and me and Amy are holding."

The redhead grinned, "When is it?"

"Tonight."

Maria giggled slightly, "Wow, you weren't joking about the last minute. I'd love to come but I can't."

Jay made a face, "Why not?"

"I have too much stuff to organise for a client's wedding on Saturday."

After being silent for the last few minutes Jeff suddenly piped up, "Candice's wedding? I thought you had everything sorted for that?"

"I do for the most part … Just need to double check things."

"Which you could do tomorrow … When was the last time you had a night off?" Jay asked.

"Last night, I got totally wasted at Mickie's and woke up to find Jeff Hardy in bed with me. Trust me, that's not happening again anytime soon."

Jay smirked, "I would have loved to have seen your face when you opened your eyes."

Maria pouted, "It wasn't funny. And besides all that you said it was fancy dress, I don't have a costume."

Jay waved off her with his hand, "That's easily solved, call Amy, she'll hook you up with something good."

Maria sighed, "You're not taking no for an answer are you Mr. Reso?"

The blond man shook his head, "Nope."

"Okay, I guess I could drop by for an hour or so."

Jay smiled, "Cool."

Maria smiled back at the blue eyed man before turning her attention of Jeff, "Now, the reason I'm here …"

Jeff laughed, "You mean you didn't just drop by to spend some more quality time with your date for Saturday?"

Maria huffed loudly, "First of all you're not my date. Inviting you to the wedding was Candice's idea and not mine. Secondly, I shall be working on Saturday so hopefully my interaction with you will be kept to a complete minimum."

Jay laughed, "Oooh totally burnage."

Maria glared, "You're not funny. Anyways, I'm here to pick up Candice's dress. She was supposed to be picking it up on Friday but she can't make it so …"

"Would you like me to get it for you?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes … Asshole."

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine, if you're going to be like that. I'm not giving you the dress. Candice will have to come over and get it herself."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me … All you have to do is say the magic word."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Please."

Jeff grinned, "See, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

The redhead gave him a fake smile, "I guess not."

"I'll just go get the dress for you."

"Why thank you Mr. Hardy. You are too kind," Maria replied sarcastically as Jeff walked off.

"I see you two are getting on as well as ever."

"Don't you start on me as well. I already have Mickie giving me a hard time about it."

"I still don't get what your problem is with him. Jeff's a great guy."

"You would think that … He's one of your best friends."

Jay rubbed his chin, "I remember a time when you used to think that too."

"I was delusional and that was a long time ago, Jason."

"Whatever you say, Ria."

Seconds later, Jeff returned with Candice's wedding dress securely stored away in a full length dress bag, "Here you go."

The redhead carefully took the bag off him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, little lady."

Maria huffed, "Whatever. Look I better get going. I'll call Amy once I get home and maybe I'll call around this afternoon or something."

"Cool, I'll see you later then."

"You sure will. Bye Jay … Bye Jeff."

"Goodbye honey," Jeff said sweetly.

"Asshole," Maria muttered as she walked off.

Maria had taken a small detour on the way back to her apartment to drop off Candice's wedding dress at her client's home. Luckily for Maria, the blushing bride to be wasn't in and she had managed to get away quickly.

Once she was back in her home, she picked up her house phone and called Amy.

"Hello?"

"Hey you, it's Maria, long time no speak."

"Hey yourself, Jay told me that you would be calling. How's thing?"

"Great," Maria lied.

"That's good to hear. Jay also told me that you're coming to the party tonight," Amy replied.

"Yup, I don't have a costume though. Any ideas?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, Jay told me that too, how about Princess Leia?"

Maria giggled, "You really think I could pull that off?"

"Of course you can," Amy replied instantly, "You'd look amazing. If you come over this afternoon, I'll do your hair. I just so happen to have a Leia costume that I bought for Jay's birthday last year."

"Really? Did he enjoy that?"

The older woman laughed, "Oh yeah."

"Okay, that sounds like fun. What time should I come over?"

"Say around four."

"Cool, do I need to bring anything else with me?" Maria asked, while she was twirling a few stands of her hair around her fingers.

"Nah, just yourself, we have anything else covered."

"Awesome, I'll see you later, Ames."

"See ya later, Ria."

Maria hung up the phone. She was now in a really good mood and looking forward to the party tonight. She had decided that it was just what she needed to get her mind off Jeff Hardy.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry about the long wait on this chapter. I'm hoping I'll be able to update this more often now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 7

Jay and Amy Reso's House, Manhattan, New York

The other guests had started to arrive at about seven. Maria had been at her friend's house since four. Amy had taken a little longer than she anticipated perfecting the Princess Leia hairstyle but she had done a great job in the end. Maria felt great and was determined that nothing was going to ruin her evening. Amy had decided to be a flapper girl to fit her husband's gangster outfit.

Mickie and Chris arrived a little after the others, Mickie had come as Lara Croft and Chris was dressed as Indiana Jones. Maria walked over to her two friends and greeted them with a smile, "Hey guys."

Mickie returned the smile, "Wow, Maria. You look great."

"Why thank you, Mickie. You look pretty awesome yourself. You too Chris."

The blond man grinned, "Thanks, Maria or should I say thanks, Leia."

Maria playfully rolled her eyes at him, "I'm going to get a drink, do you guys want anything?"

Chris held out the beer bottle he was holding in his hand in front of him, "I'm good thanks."

"Me too," Mickie replied.

The wedding planner shrugged, "I'm just going to get something for myself then. I'll be back."

Chris smiled at her as she walked away. As Maria approached the make shift bar area in the dinning room, she spotted somebody dressed in a Darth Vader costume causing a smile to grace her lips. Darth Vader was always one of her favourite characters from the Star Wars universe. A minute later, Vader was forgotten when Maria spotted another former client, Karen Angle. She seemed to Maria to be dressed as Sandy from Grease, complete with blonde wig. The only problem was the man she was currently standing next to, who was holding her hand and dressed as Danny from Grease, wasn't the groom Maria remembered.

"Oh my god, Maria Kanellis, is that you?" Karen called out.

Maria turned her head to make eye contact with the other woman, "Hi, Karen."

Karen rushed forward and hugged Maria tightly, "I haven't seen you in years."

Maria hugged her back, "It's been a while, Karen."

Karen pulled back, "Let me introduce you to somebody. Maria? This is my boyfriend, Allen Jones."

Maria turned her attention to the man and stuck out her hand, "Hi, Allen; nice to meet you."

Allen shook her hand, "Please call me A.J; everybody does."

The redhead smiled, "Okay, A.J."

"Maria was my wedding planner when I got married to Kurt," Karen explained almost unnecessarily to her boyfriend.

A.J nodded his head slightly, "Right … Your name sounds familiar, did you plan Amy and Jay's wedding too?"

"Yeah, did you come to the wedding?"

"No, I didn't know Jay then. We've been working together for the past year or so, on the magazine."

Maria smiled," Oh awesome, I love the magazine. You guys do such an amazing job with it."

"You're a gamer?" A.J asked, seemingly surprised by Maria's words.

"When I get time, which isn't very often these days but I have a subscription to the magazine." She paused for a moment as realisation hit her, "Wait a minute, A.J … You're A.J Styles?"

A.J grinned, "Guilty as charged."

Maria smiled widely, "I love your game reviews. Oh man, some of them have me in tears from laughing so hard."

"Really? I'm glad you like them."

"I do," Maria confirmed before turning her attention back to Karen, "Dare I ask what happened between you and Kurt?"

The older woman frowned, "He cheated on me with his secretary, Christy."

Maria's jaw dropped, "That skank from the wedding?"

"That's the one," Karen replied bitterly.

Maria patted Karen on the arm, "I'm sorry to hear about that. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"Something like that. I'm over it now though. Mainly thanks to A.J."

"I'm awesome," A.J joked.

Maria laughed, "And modest too. Do either of you guys want a drink? I was just about to get one when I ran into you."

"We're good but I can get you something if you'd like?" the dark haired man offered.

"That's very sweet of you; I'll take a diet coke, please."

"Coming right up." He smiled at Karen, "I'll be right back."

"I love your costume, by the way," Karen commented. "Your hair looks great like that."

"Thanks, although I can't take credit for it. Amy spent forever on it, this afternoon," Maria admitted.

A.J returned and handed Maria a bottle of diet coke, "Here ya go."

Maria smiled, "Thank you … If you'll excuse me, I just need to go find my friends, they're probably wondering what happened to me. We'll catch up later on though, okay?"

"Sure, have fun." Karen replied.

"I'll try." The wedding planner turned and walked back in the direction of the main living room to look for Mickie and Chris; only when she got there, neither was in sight. Maria frowned slightly as she realised that she'd been ditched. "Great … Where did everybody go?"

"They went outside," a deep voice replied from behind her.

Maria turned around and jumped slightly when she can face to face with Darth Vader or in reality a person dressed in a Darth Vader costume that she'd seen earlier, "Hi."

The two made small talk for a good ten minutes before Mickie and Chris returned from the garden. Maria pouted at her best friend, "I can't believe you ditched me."

Mickie frowned, "We didn't ditch you. Trish and Adam were outside fooling around in their costumes. It was amusing."

"It was," Chris agreed.

"Whatever, Darth has been keeping me company," Maria replied.

"No, you should not be hanging around with Darth Vader."

The redhead frowned, "Why not?"

"You don't know who's under that mask, Maria. It could be anyone," Mickie pointed out.

Maria laughed, "I'm sure he's not an axe murderer or anything like that so I'm sure I was perfectly safe."

"If you insist."

"I do."

"Would you like to dance?" Darth asked Maria suddenly.

"Sure,"

Mickie raised an eyebrow, "Where are you going?"

"To dance, of course."

"With him?"

Maria laughed, "Yeah, why not?"

"Because that's … Darth Vader. Leia shouldn't be dancing with Darth Vader. It's just so wrong," the brunette reasoned.

The redhead waved off her friends concerns, "Whatever." She followed Darth over to where other people were dancing.

Chris waited until the wedding planner was out of earshot before he spoke, "She has no idea that's Jeff does she?"

Mickie smirked, "Nope."

"You gonna tell her?"

"Nope."

The blond man grinned, "I knew there was a reason why I'm marrying you."

Mickie winked at him, "You better believe it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Long time, no update on anything. I've had really bad writer's block but I suddenly got an idea to get this one back on track (fingers crossed) Thanks for the reviews, I hope you still enjoy this one. Please R & R.**

Chapter 8

Maria had been dancing with Darth Vader for the past thirty minutes, still totally unaware that it was Jeff underneath the costume. As the song they were dancing to finished, the redhead placed a hand on his forearm, "Thanks for the dances but I really have to get going."

"But it's still early," Darth protested. He looked at the clock on the living room wall, "Really early."

Maria nodded, "I know but I have to a lot to do tomorrow. I'm a wedding planner and I have a big wedding coming up this weekend." She removed her hand from his arm, "You're a great dancer. Maybe we'll dance again one day."

"How about this weekend?"

The wedding planner raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"At the wedding … I know you'll be working but I'm sure you'll be able to have a dance or two," Darth suggested.

Maria placed her hands on her hips, "Okay, one you're right, I'll be working and two, you're not invited to the wedding and it's not like I can just suddenly bring a guest with me, you know?"

"That's okay, I'm already invited."

Maria laughed, "Don't be silly, I haven't even told you who's wedding it is."

Darth removed his plastic helmet to reveal his identity, "Surprise!"

The redhead's jaw dropped, "You have got to be kidding me. What the hell are you doing here?"

Jeff grinned, "It's a party."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Thank you Captain Obvious. That still doesn't explain to me what you are doing here and why you are dancing with me."

The grin on the designer's face widened, "Amy and Jay invited me and I'm dancing with you because I wanted to. Last time I checked, that wasn't a crime."

"You big jerk. Is there no end to the depths you would stoop to?" Maria asked.

Jeff shrugged, "I really don't get what the big deal is."

"That's because you are clueless. You took advantage or me," Maria protested, her voice becoming louder and louder.

"And you're starting to make a scene. Like I've told you many times before, you need to relax and take a chill pill."

"Relax this, Asshole." Without further warning, Maria slapped Jeff hard on his right cheek.

"Argh, shit that hurt," he protested, immediately grabbing his face. "What did you do that for?"

"Is everything okay here?" Chris Jericho asked, appearing from the garden.

"No, this crazy bitch just slapped me."

"Crazy bitch? How dare you call me a crazy bitch. You're the one going around hiding you're identity in that stupid costume."

Jeff rolled his eyes, "Everybody else knew who I was. It's not my fault you were too dumb to realise it."

Maria looked around at the small crowd of people who had gathered to see what all the fuss was about. "Is this true? Did you all know that was Jeff?" When nobody replied, the redhead turned her attention to Mickie, "Did you know?"

The brunette nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried to warn you but you wouldn't listen to me," Mickie replied.

"Thanks a lot Mickie … Really." With that, Maria charged out of the room.

"Maria," Mickie called out at her best friend's retreating form. "Come back."

"That went well," Chris commented.

"Shut up, dude," Jeff replied.

"What did I do?"

After leaving the living room, Maria practically ran out of Jay and Amy's house without looking back or even bothering to collect her things. She'd been walking for a few minutes before she realised that she didn't have her purse or the keys to her own apartment. She didn't even have money for a cab ride home. If she had been thinking clearly she would have just turned on her heels and headed back to pick up the missing items but she wasn't thinking clearly. Her head was buzzing with thoughts and she was feeling humiliated so instead she decided to walk back to her apartment and use the spare key to get in.

She'd only been walking for a further ten minutes before a taxi cab pulled up besides her. The rear passenger side window rolled down, "Get in."

Immediately recognising the voice, Maria carried on walking, "No thanks. I'd rather walk."

The cab matched her pace and kept up besides her, "It wasn't a request. Don't make me come out there and grab you."

Maria stopped in her tracks, "Oh you'd like that wouldn't you? That way you could humiliate me a little more than you've already done."

"Don't exaggerate, I didn't do anything. Now are you getting in or not?"

The redhead sighed, "I'm getting in … I guess."

"Good girl."

The cab stopped and Maria got in after the occupant had scooted over to the other side of the back seat. Silence filled the air as the cab pulled away from the sidewalk.

"So how long are you going to give me the silent treatment?"

"Until we get back to my apartment," Maria admitted. "And just so you know, I don't plan on forgiving you anytime soon, either, Mickie James."

This time it was Mickie's turn to sigh, "Maria, you're overreacting. I think it's the stress of this wedding or something. You're not usually like this."

Maria whipped her head around to face the brunette, "Like what? A crazy bitch?"

"I didn't say that."

"No, but Jeff did."

Mickie bit down on her lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing. It didn't work.

"This isn't funny," Maria pointed out, her face softening as reality hit her and she realised that she'd blown the whole thing out of proportion. "I've just made a complete idiot out of myself, haven't I?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Shit. I'm sorry, honey."

"Apology accepted and I'm sorry too. I should have tried harder to warn you about Jeff."

"It's not your fault. You did try and warn me, I just didn't want to listen."

"I can't believe you slapped him like that. He's pretty pissed off with you right now."

"Yeah well, it's about time he got a piece of his own medicine. Let's see how he likes it."

Mickie offered her a weak smile, "You do realise that you're going to have to face him sooner or later and when you do, you're going to have to apologise to him."

"Shit."


End file.
